The Wall Street Crash of 1929 began with Black Thursday, the name given to October 24, 1929, when heavy selling struck the New York Stock Exchange.
Stock prices had risen dramatically during the 1920s, supported by speculation and widespread buying on margin. On Black Thursday, panic selling produced exceptionally high trading volume. Leading bankers attempted to restore confidence by buying prominent shares, and the market temporarily stabilized.
That recovery did not last. Selling intensified on October 28, known as Black Monday, and again on October 29, known as Black Tuesday. The crash damaged businesses, banks, and investors, although historians distinguish the market collapse from the broader Great Depression, which involved many additional economic and policy causes.
A common mix-up is to call October 29 the beginning of the crash. Black Tuesday was the most famous day, but the sequence had already started several trading days earlier. The New York Stock Exchange was founded in 1817, long before this crisis.